I don’t even know where to begin because it’s been a very eventful two days since my last post. I guess I’ll start with the fact I went outside and notice there is a big screw in my tire, and I’ll have to deal with it tomorrow somehow. Of course it’s tomorrow: the same day I have to meet with the probate attorney, have our annual sales meeting, and meet everyone for an early dinner before the hockey game. I’ll probably drive the whole 100-mile day with the damn screw in my tire and hope it makes until Thursday. Sometimes my job sucks. The collection of tire punctures is one of them.
A quick link to Academic Earth, a link Mom (congrats on your kitchen remodelling job) gave me. It’s free lectures from leading professors. Their website blurb says (edited for space): As more and more high-quality educational content becomes available online for free, we ask ourselves, what are the real barriers to achieving a world class education? At Academic Earth, we are working to identify these barriers and find innovative ways to use technology to increase the ease of learning. We are building a user-friendly educational ecosystem that will give internet users around the world the ability to easily find, interact with, and learn from full video courses and lectures from the world’s leading scholars. Our goal is to bring the best content together in one place and create an environment in which that content is remarkably easy to use and where user contributions make existing content increasingly valuable. There’s some great stuff there including an introduction to astrophysics. My school, Berkeley, is well represented.
Next up, and this one’s for Evan more than the rest of you, comes courtesy of my friend John Carney’s blog. He says: I realize I’m sick but I didn’t think I was sick enough to hallucinate. However, I could swear my brother sent me an e-mail with a link to the Muppets performing Bohemian Rhapsody. That must be some sort of hallucination. Maybe it’s the cold medicine working. Don’t thank me for sharing that. And if you have nightmares, blame John.
Over tonight’s dinner — leftover meatballs I made — I was reading Locus Magazine. I’ve been a subscriber for damn near two decades. I’m rarely mention it, but it’s a great magazine for the Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Horror geek in you. It’s a legend in its field and you should subscribe to magazine and newspapers before they vanish forever. But I mention it because I have often recommended Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother novel to anyone who will listen because it’s that good. He’s got a nice opinion piece in Locus this month, and it’s even online. He talks about sex in young adult novels, which may be a sensitive topic to many. I’ve always thought people were too hung up on this topic anyway. It’s well worth the five minutes you’ll spend reading it. Right here.
What does everyone think of this ring. I was thinking of buying it. Comments and opinions welcome. I also found out, that if you try a ring on in Las Vegas, that same ring will be way tighter in Florida. I’m glad I didn’t buy the one I really liked when I was there because it was way too much money. But if you’re feeling generous a 7-1/2 is what I need. Here’s a small photo if you’re too lazy to go to the link.
<Photo Gone forever as of 12-4-22>
I have added to my Panthers memorabilia collection. You can see the photo on Flickr. If you want Panther collectibles, call and ask for Matt Redmond and tell him I sent you. He’ll hook you up. They have game used, game worn everything. And you’re buying right from the team so authenticity is guaranteed.
That leads me to my next topic: sex in advertising. Ever since there’s been advertising, there’s been sex. Though aside from Michael Yormark, probably nobody thinks sex was invented just for advertising. Josh — we’ll get to him in a minute — took this picture of me at the arena.
<Photo Gone forever as of 12-4-22>
Yes, the lady in the picture is very photogenic. She elicits stares from many of the menfolk especially since she’s pasted to the entrance of the men’s room. We all notice her. I’m not sure how many of us know what she’s selling. It could be because, as men, we are distracted enough that our eyes don’t drift down to the sponsor’s name. Or it could be that the ad, clearly, is an offer to sell her services to the highest bidder.
Yes, it’s clever. As all guys know, sexist as it may sound, some women are high-maintenance, and this ad certainly plays off that. It also makes this woman into a hooker. I mean she’s asking if we can afford her? What’s the hourly rate and are there restrictions or conditions? Maybe she’s a defrocked Ice Cat? I am happy to look at her, but this ad really skirts the line. It sends the wrong message. Or maybe not? What is the message? Does anyone care?
Karen is recuperating well, thanks for asking. I’ve been getting emails from all my airline frequent flyer clubs insisting I fill out the new DOHS security requirements. As you may (or may not) know before you can fly you are required to provide your DOB, gender, full legal name, and some sort of government issued ID. They prefer to have all this in advance. If you book online you’re going to be asked for all this. If you’re a Frequent Flyer, they all are adjusting your profile to provide this. But to be honest, as computer friendly as I am, I am not sure I am pleased with an airline having my driver’s license or passport number on file. I know how good their security is. Or how good it would be if they had any. Once you’re the victim of identity theft, you don’t trust things.
Thanksgiving is coming up, so I must present to you the infamous Les Nessman Turkey Drop bit in the 15 second summary or the whole episode on Hulu.The clip doesn’t do it justice — watch the episode. It’s priceless. (Yes, Mr. Carlson says it, but Nessman owns this episode.)
Finally, and more importantly, this past Sunday I heard from the elusive Josh. I’ve mentioned him before. One of those rare friends from the past that doesn’t belong in the past. In my last post, I mentioned I actually heard from him in an e-mail. I spoke to him on the phone for the first time in about 4 years. We talked until 230am. A seriously long talk. I invited him to the Penguins game Monday (even though he’s a lousy-ass Penguins fan) and, to my surprise and delight, he accepted. I thought it would be awkward, but it wasn’t. I’m glad we had some time together and I hope he sticks around.
Oh, and if you didn’t read about the teenager who was lit on fire by some other kids, the article’s here. But I don’t care if you read it or not. What I do care about is you click here and donate money, though if you read the article I promise you’ll donate twice as much. Make sure you put “Michael Brewer” in the ‘intention’ line of the form. Some people are sick beyond words.